'It's a fun way to make money for the kids' future'
One baby who did manage to make her small-screen debut at 10 months is little Neasa Arkins. The Dublin tot, now three years old, starred in an An Post ad, set in Heuston Station, which is set to return to our TV screens this month.
Her mum Elaine says: "I never intended to get the kids into modelling but I'm friends with Vincent [Lambe] and he suggested getting Neasa and my son Tadhg (7) involved in some ad work. We went for a few auditions, including the An Post one, and got them all."
Neasa appeared in two Nutrigrain ads and Tadhg was in a Dutch kids' fashion magazine after a Dolce & Gabbana shoot. The Nutrigrain and fashion shoots were long days, and not for a huge amount of money.
"Tadhg's shoot lasted on and off from 9am to 5.30pm and he got paid €500. By the end of it, he'd started to have enough and it was the same with Neasa. She was perfectly behaved all day but the moment they needed her on set she got a bit fed up and I had to distract her by playing with building blocks.
"It's definitely an industry that can involve a lot of competition, and at some auditions I was aware of some parents coaching their kids on what to say and dressing them in designer gear. But we always came as we were and I think it often worked to our advantage. But as far as we were concerned, it was a bit of a laugh and a fun way to make some money for the kids' accounts for their future.
"I've not put them forward for any castings recently. I run a nursery school and I can't afford to take time off work to go to auditions. And to be honest, I'd rather leave it until they're older anyway; that way they can decide for themselves if it's something they want to do."
Irish Independent
